The entire U-13 team is shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of our 2005 Gold Cup Champion driver Terry Troxell. His untimely death is especially devastating to me personally. Terry accomplished in our first unlimited race what many unlimited owners may never accomplish in a live time. For this I am eternally grateful and proud to know that Terry and I will forever have our names linked together on the prestigious APBA Gold Cup. Not only was he a great driver but he was also a great friend. My deepest sympathy and that of the entire U-13 team go out to his wife Sue and the entire Troxell family for their loss.

Not to get too analytical, but some of us who monitor such things will be watching this week to see whether Tri-Staters are ready for a new and different Freedom Festival. We will be curious as to whether folks are ready for a four-day riverfront event geared more along the lines of the popular West Side Nut Club Fall Festival than the old Downtown festival that grew from the Press Club bierstube to a major unlimited hydroplane event and now to a new format.